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The Fairness For All Act: Why Does A Supposedly Pro-LGBTQ Bill Face Such Fervent LGBTQ Opposition?

Marilyn Drew Necci | December 10, 2019

Topics: anti-LGBTQ discrimination, Chris Stewart, Civil Rights Act, Equality Act, Fairness For All Act, Human Rights Campaign, LGBTQ adoption, US Congress

Utah Republican Chris Stewart’s new “compromise” bill, the Fairness For All Act, doesn’t really hold up to scrutiny.

Last Friday, Utah Republican Congressman Chris Stewart introduced a new bill in the House Of Representatives. Entitled the Fairness For All Act, the bill seeks to ban discrimination against LGBTQ people in employment, housing, education, and public accomodations. However, the same day it was released, the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) posted an article on their blog entitled “The Fairness For All Act is an Affront to Existing Civil Rights Protections.” If your first thought is, “Wait, what?” you’re certainly not alone.

However, examination of the fine print contained in the Fairness For All Act, as well as the context in which was introduced, starts to make all of this much clearer. And as it turns out, HRC is right, as they so often are.

Rep. Stewart’s bill is a response to the Equality Act, a bill that passed in the Democratic-majority House Of Congress mainly along party lines (five Republicans also voted for it). That bill’s purpose was straightforward: end the ongoing confusion over whether or not the 1964 Civil Rights Act’s prohibition of discrimination on basis of “sex” did or did not cover LGBTQ people facing discrimination on the basis of their gender identity or sexual orientation. The Equality Act would add discrimination on basis of gender identity and sexual orientation to the Civil Rights Act’s list of prohibited discriminations, and also ensure that the Religious Freedom Restoration Act could not be used as a justification for such discriminations.

The Equality Act, which enjoys widespread popular support as well as the support of LGBTQ advocates, has not been able to gain traction in the Republican-controlled US Senate. And now Stewart’s Fairness For All Act is being presented as a more acceptable alternative, one that could potentially gain bipartisan support and enshrine LGBTQ anti-discrimination protections into our country’s law.

However, the Fairness For All Act, while adding the same sort of protections to federal law that the Equality Act would ensure, carves out a significant exception for religious organizations, as well as allowing small businesses like the infamous anti-LGBTQ wedding cake bakers to engage in discrimination against LGBTQ people on the basis of religious freedom. The act would not curtail any aspect of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act and would allow religious higher education facilities like Brigham Young University to retain tax-exempt status despite vocally opposing marriage equality.

Another way in which the act would allow for anti-LGBTQ discrimination, according to the Washington Blade, is its requirement that a business must have “15 or more employees for each working day in each of 20 or more calendar weeks in the current or preceding calendar year” before anti-LGBTQ discrimination prohibitions apply. That means you can still be discriminated against legally in any business that has 14 or less employees; for example, if you need your car repaired, the fact that the average repair shop has around five full-time employees means that you’re likely to be at the mercy of the notoriously right-wing car industry, which would be well within its rights to offer you higher rates or substandard repair due to your sexual orientation or gender identity.

Car repair. Photo by Maxime Agnelli on Unsplash

Yet another way is in its exemption of religiously-affiliated adoption agencies, thereby allowing organizations who only wish to allow adoption by hetero couples to continue refusing adoptions by same-sex couples.

Backers of the Fairness For All Act include the Mormon church, as well as several other religious organizations and the editorial page of the conservative Washington Examiner. “I’m excited about the solutions that are embodied in the legislation, because I think that those are the exact ideas that we’re going to need to pass federal civil rights for LGBTQ people,” Tyler Deaton, senior adviser at the American Unity Fund, told Vox.

However, LGBTQ advocacy organizations like HRC, GLAAD, and Lambda Legal, as well as other advocacy organizations including the NAACP, the National Fair Housing Alliance, the National Partnership For Women and Families, and several others released a joint statement on Friday, December 6 condemning the Fairness For All Act.

In the statement, the groups called the Fairness For All Act “an affront to existing civil rights protections that protect people on the basis of race, sex, and religion and creates new, substandard protections for LGBTQ people with massive loopholes and carve-outs, and upends critical federal programs that serve children in need.” They also argued that “Our nation’s existing civil rights framework already strikes the right balance when it comes to the government’s interest in protecting religious freedom and advancing nondiscrimination, and it is wrong to put into law a different system of protections for LGBTQ people and their families. This legislation would create a “double whammy” for anyone at the intersection of multiple marginalized identities: a Black lesbian or Transgender Jewish woman, for example, could see many of her existing rights erased or rolled back, ostensibly to protect her.”

Of course, quite a few conservative groups hate the Fairness For All Act too, including the Heritage Foundation, who say the bill does not “promote the common good,” according to Vox. If anything, this proves that weakening our own rights in order to placate the conservatives of the country will gain us little in the eyes of many who are dead set on opposing our civil rights. Therefore, if we’re going to push for anything, it seems worthwhile to push for legislation that protects LGBTQ people in as many situations as possible, rather than accepting a watered-down compromise that will leave us open to quite a bit of discrimination even if it is signed into law by Donald Trump.

Top Photo: Chris Stewart’s press conference announcing the Fairness For All Act, via the Seventh Day Adventist Church of America/Twitter

New Regulation Would Strip Federal Protections for LGBTQ People from All HHS Programs in Favor of ‘Religious Freedom’

New Civil Rights Movement | November 6, 2019

Topics: adoption, Department of Health and Human Services, Human Rights Campaign, Lambda Legal, National Center for Transgender Equality, Trump administration

The rule is specifically designed to focus on adoption and foster care, but will affect all federally-funded programs under Department of Health and Human Services control, including those dealing with HIV prevention and youth homelessness.

A proposed new regulation would strip all protections for LGBTQ people from all programs administered by the U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services, and give special rights to entities or programs that are religious or “faith-based.” HHS, under the direction of Secretary Alex Azar, has a budget of $1.2 trillion affecting the health and well-being, directly or indirectly, of nearly every person in the country.

Lambda Legal says the proposed rule “would invite HHS grantees receiving taxpayer funds to discriminate based on sexual orientation, gender identity, or religion.”

This rule will openly encourage discrimination on the basis of sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, AND religion in *all* HHS programs.

This is taxpayer-funded discrimination. Religion is NOT a #LicenseToDiscriminate.

— Lambda Legal (@LambdaLegal) November 1, 2019

While reportedly drafted to focus on adoption and foster care organizations, the Human Rights Campaign also says the proposed rule would extend far beyond those entities to all programs that receive funding from HHS.

“The Trump-Pence White House has proposed a horrific federal regulation that would permit discrimination across the entire spectrum of HHS programs receiving federal funding,” said HRC President Alphonso David. “This would permit discrimination against LGBTQ people, religious minorities, and women in programs related to foster care, adoption, HIV and STI prevention, youth homelessness, refugee resettlement, elder care programs and more. It is unconscionable that the Trump-Pence administration would prioritize advancing discrimination over the wellbeing of vulnerable people and expect taxpayers to foot the bill for their discriminatory policies. The Trump-Pence White House is relying on the same flawed legal reasoning they’ve used in the past to justify discrimination against LGBTQ people and other communities.”

The Washington Blade, noting the  proposed regulation “will have far-reaching implications,” reports the proposal would “undo an Obama-era policy prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation among federal grantees.”

According to  the National Center for Transgender Equality (NCTE) the Blade says “the rule will allow anti-trans discrimination in HIV and STI prevention programs, opioid programs, youth homelessness services, health professional training, substance-use recovery programs and other life-saving services.”

“The proposal seeks to gut an Obama-era rule that barred entities receiving money under federal contracts, including adoption agencies, from discriminating on the basis of sexual orientation.”

HHS is reportedly granting only 30 days for public comment and review.

Written by David Badash, The New Civil Rights Movement. Image via NCRM

Six Top 2020 Democratic Presidential Candidates to Appear in First-Ever LGBTQ Town Hall on National TV

Marilyn Drew Necci | September 6, 2019

Topics: CNN, Democratic debates, Elizabeth Warren, Human Rights Campaign, Joe Biden, LGBTQ Town Hall

The October 10 event is presented by the Human Rights Campaign, and will feature Biden, Warren, and several other Democratic candidates for President.

Six of the top ten Democratic presidential candidates have signed on to appear in a town hall focused on “issues of importance to the LGBTQ community.” The October 10 event will be hosted by CNN and the Human Rights Campaign.

“The evening will constitute the largest-ever audience for a Democratic presidential town hall devoted to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) issues and will mark the first time in history that a major cable news network will air a presidential event devoted to issues of importance to the LGBTQ community,” HRC says in a press release.

Former Vice President Joe Biden, Mayor Pete Buttigieg, former Secretary Julián Castro, Senator Kamala Harris, Senator Amy Klobuchar, and Senator Elizabeth Warren will all participate. The event is open to all Democratic presidential candidates who meet the DNC’s fall debate eligibility criteria.

Currently not on HRC’s list for the LGBTQ town hall but qualified for this month’s DNC debate are Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ), former Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D-TX), Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT), and Andrew Yang.

“In 2018, LGBTQ voters cast ballots in higher numbers than the general population. LGBTQ voters cast more than 7 million ballots in all — a turnout of roughly 70 percent, compared to a turnout of 49 percent among the general population — and comprised 6 percent of the entire electorate,” HRC notes, adding that there are 10 million LGBTQ voters nationwide.

“Over the last two years,” HRC adds, “the Trump-Pence Administration has rescinded key protections for transgender students, appointed two new conservative justices to the Supreme Court, banned transgender troops from serving openly in the military, and has repeatedly sought to allow discrimination against LGBTQ people in healthcare, housing, public accommodations and other aspects of life under the guise of ‘religious freedom.’ Despite campaigning on a promise to be a ‘friend’ to the LGBTQ community, President Trump designated Mike Pence as his vice president, and has refused to advance bipartisan federal civil rights legislation — the Equality Act — which overwhelmingly passed through the U.S. House of Representatives this spring.”

Written by David Badash, The New Civil Rights Movement. Image by GPA Photo Archive via Flickr and a CC license

Human Rights Campaign Endorses & Invests In 27 Candidates For Virginia General Assembly

Marilyn Drew Necci | August 19, 2019

Topics: Democratic Party of Virginia, Equality Virginia, General Assembly, HRC, Human Rights Campaign, kirk cox, LGBTQ protections, Virginia Fair Housing Law

HRC is investing in the 27 candidates, all Democrats, in hopes of passing stronger protections for LGBTQ Virginians in the next General Assembly session.

On Thursday, Human Rights Campaign formally announced their decision to make a “six-figure” investment into the 2019 Virginia General Assembly campaign. Their campaign will take the form of endorsements and donations to 27 different candidates currently running for a seat on Virginia’s General Assembly.

“HRC is proud to endorse these pro-equality champions who will be our partners in achieving long-overdue non-discrimination protections for LGBTQ Virginians,” HRC President Alphonso David said in a statement. “Virginia is at a turning point: voters are fed up with politicians who insist on playing politics with the lives of LGBTQ people. Virginians deserve leaders who will fight for them and bring people together, not pit us against each other.”

All of the candidates receiving endorsements and investments from HRC are Democrats; 18 are women, and 10 are people of color. The endorsements constitute the largest program HRC has ever launched in Virginia. It will focus on “Equality Voters,” a HRC-defined category the group says it used “sophisticated analytics” to identify throughout the country in a 2018 program. The group says that their Virginia program will target 1.2 million of these Equality Voters in 27 districts around Virginia.

“In the coming months, HRC will work tirelessly to turn out the 1.2 million Equality Voters in Virginia and elect new leadership in Richmond that will put the needs of Virginians ahead of the needs of special interests,” David said in a statement.

In the most recent General Assembly session, at the beginning of 2019, a bipartisan majority of delegates supported two LGBTQ-focused anti-discrimination bills that had been proposed in that session. One, HB 2067, merely made the prohibitions against discrimination on basis of sexual orientation and gender identity for state employees, currently enforced by an executive order signed by Governor Northam on his first day in office, a permanent state law. The other, HB 2677, added prohibitions against discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity to Virginia’s Fair Housing Law.

Similar bills have passed with bipartisan support several times in the Virginia State Senate. However, despite widespread support for both bills, high-powered Republicans in the House Of Delegates, including Speaker of the House Kirk Cox and Majority Caucus Chairman Tim Hugo, worked to prevent both bills from coming to a vote in committee.

Among the candidates HRC is endorsing in this election cycle are Sheila Bynum-Coleman, who is running against Cox, and Dan Helmer, who is running against Hugo. Bynum-Coleman’s chances are seen as particularly strong in light of the fact that the recent anti-gerrymandering reforms passed in Virginia led District 66, which Cox currently represents, to be redrawn, making it 32 points more Democratic, according to Virginia Public Access Project, than it was previously.

“For the past six years, the Republican-controlled State Senate has passed legislation to protect LGBT people from discrimination,” said Equality Virginia Deputy Director Vee Lamneck in a statement. “But despite strong support from within his own Republican caucus, House Speaker Kirk Cox has repeatedly killed a number of bills that would have ensured LGBT people were treated fairly and equitably under our laws including common-sense, bipartisan bills that would have provided nondiscrimination protections for LGBT Virginians. Virginia can’t afford to allow discrimination to continue in our commonwealth. We need new leadership that will truly represent Virginia’s values.”

The full list of candidates that HRC is endorsing this year can be seen at their website.

Photo via HRC.org

Mike Pence Blasted For Appearing with Anti-LGBTQ Extremists Three Times in Five Days

New Civil Rights Movement | August 9, 2019

Topics: Alliance Defending Freedom, anti-LGBTQ activism, anti-LGBTQ discrimination, anti-LGBTQ hate groups, Human Rights Campaign, Mike Pence, religious freedom, Southern Poverty Law Center

The Vice President continues to be blatant in his support for the erosion of LGBTQ rights, and his support of those who work against us.

Vice President Mike Pence has spent three of the past five days appearing at conferences and on stage with anti-LGBTQ extremists, including one who calls gay people “terrorists” and compares them to ISIS, as well as a group that appears on the Southern Poverty Law Center’s list of anti-gay hate groups. Some are starting to notice and call him out for it.

“Less than a week after appearing at an Erick Erickson-sponsored conference, and a day after appearing with anti-LGBTQ extremist Sam Brownback, Mike Pence continues his anti-LGBTQ crusade with an appearance at an event organized by the anti-LGBTQ hate group the Alliance Defending Freedom,” the Human Rights Campaign says in an email. HRC points to the Vice President’s “close ties” to ADF, a group that HRC says “is among the most horrific of any group operating in the United States.”

The Vice President late Tuesday morning addressed the ADF, a group that successfully represented an anti-gay Christian baker at the U.S. Supreme Court and works to deprive LGBTQ people of their civil rights, while offering false narratives. Pence, speaking at the Ritz-Carlton in Arlington, Virginia, bragged that he and the Trump administration have “taken action to protect the conscience rights of doctors and nurses and healthcare providers,” and “gone to court to protect the right to religious expression in the public square,” while praising the ADF for being “there every step of the way.”

Wonderful to be able to hear the @VP speak on the importance of defending everywhere our fundamental freedoms, and thankful for this photo with the @ADFIntl team pic.twitter.com/2E3Gbe6wDW

— Sean Nelson (@Sean_ADFIntl) August 6, 2019

The Trump administration claims it is working to decriminalize homosexuality around the world (there do not appear to be any public reports on its progress) and yet the Vice President is bragging about his work with the ADF, a group that, according to HRC, “believes in the re-criminalization of homosexuality in the U.S. and across the globe.”

ADF also “has advocated for the sterilization of trans people,” and its “extremist views have found their way into Trump administration and state legislative actions.”

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